Articles Archive - Page 71 of 158 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

“I think they’ll miss the party,” said John Wenzel, director of Powdermill Nature Reserve when I sent him these photographs of a cicada nymph shedding its skin. The nymph hatched too early, he told me, and will have difficulty finding a mate. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”314″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] No doubt my photos were commonplace to an …

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Events

“A Masked Affair” Raises $500,000 for Pittsburgh Public Theater

by PQ Staff

More than 400 people went all out for Pittsburgh Public Theater’s “A Masked Affair,” which took place on Friday, May 17 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Downtown. The vibe in the King’s Garden Ballroom was fresh and fun as light poured in to illuminate bedazzled guests mingling during cocktails in their masks. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”313″ …

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History

Remembering the Summer of ’69

by Diane Vrabel

In the summer of 1969, my best friend was my transistor radio. With the radio glued to my ear, I spent hours daydreaming in the backyard, grooving to soulful sounds like Sly and the Family Stone singing “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” My humdrum neighborhood of Brookline was as far away from places like Martha’s …

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Events

Maecenas XXXV Concludes Opera’s 80th Season

by PQ Staff

Pittsburgh Opera concluded its 80th season with its annual Maecenas fundraiser gala on Saturday, May 18. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”311″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Pittsburgh Opera honored Academy Award-winning actress and singer Shirley Jones with its Renaissance Award, and PNC Bank and the PNC Foundation with its Maecenas Award. The event was held at the Benedum Center and …

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The Pulse

On the Water

by Jeffery Fraser

The sun shines more often. Valleys are greening. Summer is on the horizon. And southwestern Pennsylvanians are taking to the region’s abundant streams, rivers and lakes for recreation, as they do each season in impressive numbers. More than 66 percent of residents head to a stream, river or lake for a little recreation. And 37 …

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Creative Capital

Reeling in the Big One

by Greg Curtis

AONE made a grandiloquent gesture with his arm, saying, “These are all my paintings.” They were hung around the four walls of the giant loft and it looked to me like there might be a thousand of them. We circumnavigated the loft clockwise, pausing in front of each painting so AONE could explain the inspiration …

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Events

Big Green Block Party Celebrates Phipps’ Newest Green Building

by PQ Staff

Over 500 people attended Phipps’ Big Green Block Party on the evening of Thursday, May 16 to celebrate the best sustainable Pittsburgh has to offer, including the opening of Phipps’ newest green building, the Exhibit Staging Center. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”312″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Guests explored Phipps’ outdoor campus and three green buildings, among the most sustainable …

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Obituaries

Fine, Flaherty, Yee, McHugh, Fisher, Busis

by PQ Staff

Milton Fine, 92: The son of Jewish immigrants, Fine made his mark as a businessman, philanthropist and Pittsburgh patron of the arts. He was raised in East Pittsburgh, where his father raised a family as a tailor. At 18, he was an Army sergeant, leading men into combat during World War II. After practicing law …

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Opinion

When Clocks Have No Hands

by Samuel Hazo

I am a returnee by nature. Over the years I have returned to neighborhoods where I once lived, to rooms in dormitories that were mine, to Mirror Lake in the Adirondacks where I caught my first trout and to a grade school playground where I competed in kickball (soccer), softball and football. Although I enjoyed …

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Nature

Crown Jewels of the Commonwealth

by Julia Fraser

A stand of old-growth hemlocks with trunks nearly four feet in diameter towers over a trail cut along a creek shrouded in mountain laurel that ripples through Laurel Hill State Park, part of one of the largest state park systems in the nation. It rose from a Depression-era work program that employed young men desperate …

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Region

Survival of the Fittest

by Jeffery Fraser

Fran and Steve are hiding in the Monroeville Mall, spying on its creepy patrons—gray-skinned zombies who’d once been suburbanites, judging from their apparel. One of the walking dead, a woman, staggers from an appliance store mindlessly dragging a new toaster by the cord. “What are they doing? Why do they come here?” Fran says. “Some …

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Regional News

Jobs Grow Slowly

by Jeffery Fraser

Jobs edged up in southwestern Pennsylvania in April compared to the previous year, but the rate of growth was slower than in most of its peer regions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area saw nonfarm jobs increase 0.62 percent from April 2018 to April 2019, which is …

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Arts

Lear in the Furnace: A Review of Quantum Theatre’s “King Lear”

by Stuart Sheppard

Attending a Quantum Theatre production can be like traveling to one of those crazy destination weddings where they make you climb up some precipitous volcano to reach the venue, while you ponder the wedding planner’s sanity. You know the view will be fantastic, but is the journey worth it? In the case of William Shakespeare’s …

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Events

“Multiplicity” Highlights 28 Contemporary Artists

by PQ Staff

In a stimulating evening of creative discovery, James Gallery opened an expansive exhibition, “Multiplicity,” on Friday, May 10. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”310″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The exhibition highlights 28 contemporary artists, each with unique processes and visual vocabulary. Many references are expressed, from ﬂuid, gestural and geometric abstraction to landscape and ﬁgurative. At the opening reception, artists …

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Events

Columnist George Will Speaks at St. Barnabas Founder’s Day

by PQ Staff

St. Barnabas Charities hosted their annual Founder’s Day Celebration Gala on Thursday, April 25, 2019 at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township, Pa. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”309″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The event brought together corporate sponsors, prominent business people and community leaders to celebrate the founding of St. Barnabas. The evening included a cocktail reception, silent …

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Creative Capital

A Tale of Two Lofts

by Greg Curtis

The Exotic Eastern European Film Director (EEEFD) and I climbed out of our cab and rang the bell at the studio of the Internationally Famous Artist (IFA). The IFA gave us a tour of his studio, which was eye-opening. Even in those days, Soho was a heart-stoppingly expensive neighborhood, but the IFA owned a huge, …

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American Spirit

Kristine Knows Her Frick

by Kate Benz

It is 17 degrees outside. It is very gray and very windy and everything is frozen. Which would inspire most people to look out the window and say, “Um, no thanks,” but not the trio from Madison, Wisconsin. “It’s like spring!” they say, all smiles and giggles and oblivious to the cold. It’s their last …

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Profiles

To Bail or Not to Bail

by Jennifer Papale Rignani

The president of the Pennsylvania Bail Bond Association is not straight out of central casting. His wife and young daughters write children’s books, and he’s sipped a lot of tea at imaginary princess parties. Matter of fact, he looks more like an underwear model than a tough guy who meets criminals in the dead of …

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History

What Will Millennials Tell Their Grandchildren?

by Anne Faigen

Coming out of the restaurant we nearly collided with him—a compact, bearded man in a wheelchair, oxygen delivered to his nose from the tank tucked beside him. His scraggly gray-black beard rested against his chest; the liveliest part of his face was the bright blue of his eyes. When I apologized for almost bumping into …

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Events

Luncheon Raises $550,000 for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

by PQ Staff

The 2019 PNC Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Spring Hat Luncheon was held on Saturday, May 4 in Allegheny Commons Park. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”308″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The event raised more than $550,000 for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and welcomed a sold out crowd of 650 guests. It was the first time the annual event was held in …

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Nature

Hiking in Laurel Hill State Park

by Thomas Saunders

Second only to Alaska, Pennsylvania hosts more than 86,000 miles of streams and rivers. Our state also provides hundreds of hiking trails covering elevations from near sea level to the highest point in the state, Mount Davis. While ridgeline treks often offer sweeping vistas, Pennsylvania’s best hikes also include forested trails along our beautiful streams. …

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Creative Capital

AONE and Me

by Greg Curtis

“Could it be our boy’s done something rash?” —Bertholt Brecht, “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer,” or “Mack the Knife,” translated and sanitized by Marc Blitzstein, with thanks to Bobby Darin If you want to cause a lot of trouble for yourself, you could do worse than to sit down and write a screenplay. I know precisely nothing …

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